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Ijulletin pour le néseau de necherches J4.ntarctiques du eanada

W elcome to a new CARPIPRAC initia­tive, the Canadian Antarctic Research Network. This network is composed

ofmembers who have shown an interest in Cana­dian involvement in Antarctic research in the past, present and future by responding to our previous questionnaire. If you did not receive tms news­letter directly and would like to join the network please fill out and return the questionnaire on p. 6. If you have suggestions for future issues please contact the editor (address on p. 5).

Bienvenue à cette première édition d'une nouvelle initiative' du CARP/PRAC, le Réseau de Recherches Antarctiques du

Canada. Ce réseau se compose de membres qui ont manifesté un intérêt sur l'implication passée, présente et future du Canada en l'Antarctique. Si vous désirez faire partie de notre liste de correspondance, veuillez s'il vous plaît remplir et retourner le formulaire à la p. 6. Si vous avez des suggestions à apporter pour les éditions à venir, communiquez avec l'éditeur (adresse à la p. 5).

The Canadian Antarctic Research Program: Moving Toward Reality from Peter Suedfeld, Chairman of the CARPIPRAC Executive Committee

During the past year, there have been many dis­cussions concemingjust what CARPIPRAC is, what it should be, and how we ean move it from the first to the second. After considerable discussion, including a conference sponsored by the Canadian Polar Com­mission (CPC), we have decided not to press for full membership in SCAR until a more cohesive Cana­dian Antarctic "Program" actually exists. The re­titling of this ewsletter as being addressed to the Canadian Antarctic Research Network also reflects this situation.

However, thanks to the CPC (see Wbit Fraser's article), we are in fact becoming a much more organ­ized and established enterprise. We have obtained a stable budget for administrative purposes, and the part­time assignment to Antarctic affairs of a CPC staff member (Dr. Albert Haller). Olav Laken, a member of the CARP Executive, will aet as our Ottawa liai­son with CPC. He has also prepared an extensive workplan for the CARP-CPC interface (see article in­side).

We have made considerable progress since the inception ofCARP in 1993. Members of the CARP Executive have met several times with the Polar Com­missioners and the Circumpolar Ambassador to raise

Issue 2, April 1996.

their awareness ofCanada's Antarctic aetivities. Canada was represented for the first time at the 1994 SCAR and COMNAP meetings (see G.S.H. Loek's article) and we will also participate in 1996. ln addition, Dennis Stossel, a new member of the CARP Executive, will represent us in 1996 at SCALOP. In the recent past, CARP has established links with other national programs (notably those of Great Britain, New Zealand, and the USA), which are now leading to bipolar scientific ex­changes. Such collaborations will be further enhanced by the Canadian Arctic/Antarctic Exchange Program, now being designed jointly by the Polar Continental Shelf Project and CARP which is planned to become operational this August. CARP bas also supported Ca­nadian companies in their Antarctic activities.

Ali this has occurred with helpful suggestions and support from Fred Roots, whose knowledge and expe­rience of polar research and policy are unrivaled in Canada, and from other Canadian scientists with rel­evant interests. Thanks to everyone's cooperation, we have come a long way in three years, and the mornen­tum is growing. We shall keep you informed in future issues ofthe Newsletter about further developments; in the meantime, we welcome your questions and sugges­tions.

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Canada in the Antarctic: Challenges and Opportunities Whit Fraser, Chairman of the Canadian Polar Commission

Canada has long maintained strong commercial links to the multinational research community in Antarctica. How­ever, only recently have we moved to build these ties through accession to the Antarctic Treaty and member­ship in the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Despite wbat some may regard as a tentative federal com­mitment to study of the polar regions, Canada need not take a backseat when it cornes to Antarctic research. Nor should we be timid in our expectations for the future: we can set challenging goals for a national Antarctic research program, and we can achieve those goals through con­certed action on the part of a1l stakeholders in the research process. In the words of the Commission's recent paper, Toward a Policy for Canadian Polar Science and Tech­nology, "Canada cannot afford to undervalue its stake in Antarctic research. The time is opportune for Canadian government, business, and the research community to adopt a more active role in the region. "

As a key proponent of bi-polar studies, Canada has much to offer and much to gain. The Polar Commission has initiated discussions with Natural Resources Canada on the establishment ofreciprocal researcb arrangements that would permit Canadians to utilize Antarctic stations oper­ated by other Treaty countries; in exchange, the northern facilities ofCanada's Polar Continental ShelfProject wouId be made available to researchers from abroad.

The Polar Commission is encouraged by the efforts to date of the Canadian Antarctic Research Program; though mod­est in size and limited in resources, it has accomplished a great deal in only a few short years. Most importantly, it has helped to provide a clear sense ofpurpose in the devel­opment of Canadian policy with respect to the southern polar region.

SCAR Working Groups

Ali SCAR member countries have national working groups representing the various scientific disciplines of Antarctic research; their recommendations are subsequently trans­mitted to the annual international SCAR meeting. CARPI PRAC is now calling for nominations (including self-nomi­nations) to establish such groups for Canada. Please send your nominations to Dr. Peter Suedfeld.

Upcoming and Recent Meetings

17-20 Oct. 1995: SCARICOMNAP Workshop on Antarc­tic Environmental Monitoring (Part 1). Oslo, Norway. 26-29 Mar. 1996: SCARICOMNAP Workshop on Antarc­tic Environmental Monitoring (Part 2). College Station, Texas. 29 April - 10 May 1996: Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Utrecht, Netherlands. 1·4 July 1996: Polar Desert Ecosystems. Christchurch, New Zealand. (for information, the Email contact is carol@chch.niwa.cri.nz). 5-16 Aug. 1996: XXIV SCAR Meeting, Cambridge, UK 27-31 Aug. 1996: IX International Symposium on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice. Hanover, USA

SCAR-WATCH

At the SCAR XXI1I delegates' meeting in Rome (Sep· tember 1994), Dr. G.S.H. Lock, as chairman of the Polar International Affairs Committee of the Canadian Polar Commission, presented Canada's application for Associ­ate Membership noting:

1) The application represented a partnership between CPC (which has a mandate for polar affairs) and NRCC (which is the official ICSU adhering body); 2) Canada's long historical involvement in Antarctic sci­ence, e.g. biology, geophysics, atmospheric physics, glaciology, etc.; 3) Canada's provision of technical support for Antarctic science through ships, aircraft, snow vehicles, buildings, airstrip construction, etc.; 4) The contributions of individual Canadians as recog­nized, for example, in Antarctic place names; 5) The role of the Canadian Polar Commission in devel­oping our Antarctic scientific community; 6) Our strong interest in bi-polar studies; 7) The formation of CARP, the inaugural newsletter of which was distributed at the meeting; 8) Canada's intention of seeking full membership in SCAR; 9) Our wish to participate in suitable joint projects with other SCAR members.

Our application was unanimously approved and we were warmly welcomed.

During the course of the meeting several useful contacts were made. ln particular the United Kingdom, Aus­tralia and New Zealand expressed interest in developing further ties.

Gerry S. H. Lock

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Canadians in the Antarctic: 1995-96

Kathy ConJan i a biologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. ln January and February 1996 he completed a three year tudy on the ynchrony of reproduc­tion of benthic crustaceans to the annual phytoplankton bloom. A new study was inüiated on the influence of sew­age-derived organic matter on the benthic fauna adjacent to McMurdo Station, using stable i otopes as tracers. Dr. Conlan as isted her USAP collaborator, Dr. Rikk Kvitak of Mo s Landing Marine Laboratorie', California, who i de­veJoping a GlS (Geographic Infonnation Sy tem) of the McMurdo area. In collaboration with ew Zealand's In­ternational Centre for Antarctic Infonnation and Rescarch, the .S. Antarctic Program, and th Italian Antarctic Pro­gram, she a si ted in a sessing the potential f three coa tal marine Sil s at the Italian Terra Nova Stmion for designa­lion of special protection status. Dr. Conlan was also in­volved in a number of public information proj cts. For xample. she stablished e-mail contact with two Ottawa

area high schools and slipplied them with ongoing descrip­tions of Antarctic research activities at McMlIrdo Station. One of the chool incorporated this into a grade Il geog­raphy project on Antarctica.

Peter Doran, from Ontario. i a doctoral student at the niver ity of evada (Desert Research ln titute), Reno.

During the 1995-96 season he made his fourth vi. it to the Antarctic. His primary tasks were to do annual mainte­nance onthe McMlIrdo LT R Automatic Weather etwork, and 10 collect . amples for water column dating of Taylor Valley lakes. Along with Jeffrey Schmok of Golder Asso­ciates, Vancouver. he also did some radar work on one of Antarctica's large lakes, Lake Vida. This lake was previ­ously believed to be frozen to it's base at about 10 metres but the radar urvey sugge. ts that it has a 19 metre ice­coyer over aline waler. He will be investigaling this fur­ther in the coming sea ·on.

Paul Langevin who works with Parks Canada in Jasper visited the Taylor Valley as a glaciological assi ·tanl. He was involved in measllring glacier ma . balance. energy fluxes on land, glacier ice and lake ice, surveying stake n lwork u ing GPS. and pholographing glaciers from e.­tablished phologrammetry sites. He workcd for Dr. Andr w Foul1!ain, USGS, a c -PI of the Long Ti rm Ecologi al Re­s arch Pr gram Ihat is inv stigaling physical and biologi­cal processes of Ihe McMurdo Dry Valley ecosyslem.

Rowena Rae is a docloral sludenl al niver ilé Laval in Québec City. During January 1996 sh joined biologists with the New Zealand Antarclic Program at Lake Vanda in the Wright Dry Valley and at Bratina L'land in the Ross !ce

helf. Several water eolumn profile were done at Lake Vanda in luding one of ultravi let Iight penetration. Ex­periments both at Lake Vanda and the Bratina 1 land iee shelf ponds fo u 'ed on ultraviolet radiation and tempera­ture effect on photosynthesis and damage/repair rate of natural phytoplankton a semblage .

Jeffrey Schmok is a geophysiei. t at Gold r Ass iale' in Vancouver. In supporl of the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER projeel, he used ground penetraling radar (GPR) in a range of frequencie , polarizalions, antenna de igns, and a qui­'ition modes t acquir . ub urfa e images of perennially ice-covered lak s, de p :ubsurfaee waler bodies, permafro t alluvium, and subglacial . truclure. He was asked to par­ticipate becau. e of extensive practical experience in suc­ee fui applieati n ofCold Region· geophysics, and for hi expertise in unusual subsurface imaging problems. Beside support from the T R, funding support was provided by Golder A sociale and by anada's IRAP program. This -funding wa for field experiment in a well-eonSlrained conductivity environmenllO improve the ability of GPR to penetrate more effeetively into allenuative. diffi ult gr und. La k of penetration into conductive ground repr s nls a major limitation 10 the more wid spread application of GPR 10 shallow engineering and environmcntal geophysi :.

Jean-Eric Tremblay recently received hi PhD From Université Laval, Québec .ity. and i' now working on a po I-doctoral fellowship al the Alfred Wegener ln litut in Gerrnany. During the 1995-96 season he worked aboard the German ice-breaker "Polarstem" in the Wedd Il S a. The objectives of the expedition were to characterize the phy ical and biological structure of the northem W dd Il

ea. wilh Dr. Tremblay involved specifically in th uptake of nitrogen and carbon by size fractionated phYloplanklon.

Warwick Vincent is Protes or of Limnology (fre hwater environmcnlal science) al nivcrsilé Laval in Québec Cily. Ovcr Ihe last year h h~ be n involved in developing an environrnental manag menl strategy for the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a rcgion in Ihe Ross Sea Seclor of Antarclica con­taining lakes, stream. and ice-free land. He revi ited this region '\s a guest of Ihe Uniled tates Antarclic Program in December 1995 10 in pecl CUITent environmental impacts and prolocols. and to finalize the managemenl report (now availablc on the World Wide Web at hnp://icair.org.nz/en­vironm nt/dry-valleys/). He also undertook a sludy of bio­optie:!1 prop l'tics f the Dry Valley lake , in partieular Ihe . xt nt to whi h ultraviolet radiation penetrates into [he e pcrrnancnlly i c-covcred waterb dies.

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The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, Seoul, Korea, May 1995

Dr. Fred Roots, Science Advisor Emeritus of the Dept. of the Environment, represented Canada as a Non-Consulta­tive Party at the XIX ATCM in Seoul, Korea, 8- L9 May 1995, and took part in aU discussions that appeared relevant to Canadian interests or expertise. Canada co-sponsored a Working Paper with Chile to open a discussion on the agenda item 'Relevance of Developments in the Arctic to the Ant­arctic' . Canada also tabled three infonnation papers: an opening address from Canada; a policy 'statement from a major Canadian Antarctic tour operator as a contribution to agenda item discussions on Tourism and on govemmental activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area; and a copy of the 1993 AEPS Ministerial Report (Nuuk Declaration) as a con­tribution to the agenda item 'Relevance ofDeveloproents in the Arctic to the Antarctic'. Also, the major Initial Envi­ronmental Evaluation of Antarctic shipborne commercial operations, tabled by the International Association of Ant­arctic Tour Operations (lAATO) was prepared by a Cana­dian operator. Dr. Roots is currently preparing for Cana­da's participation in the XX ATCM to be held 29 April-I 0

May 1996 in the Netherlands.

BIPOLAR RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

CARPIPRAC is currently working in collaboration with Polar Continental SbelfProject to establish a Canadian ArcticlAntarctic Exchange Program. It would enable for­eign scientists who work with Canadians in the Antarc­tic to be supported logistically (transportation in the Arctic plus subsistance at a PCSP base) by PCSP on the same basis as their Canadian colleagues. The applica­tion would come from the Canadian sponsoring scien­tist and would be judged by the PCSP Science Advi­sory Panel with input From CARP. PCSP will produce a draft application form and we expect the program to be up and running by August 1996.

CARPIPRAC Workplan

A workplan for CARPIPRAC is currently being finalized by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Cana­dian Polar Commission (CPC). The key objectives outlined in this workplan are:

* to promote bipoLar studies * to identify Canadian interests in Antarctica * to facilitate exchange among Canadian scientists with a research interest in Antarctica ( via the CARN newsletter) * To act as the formai link between the Antarctic research community in Canada and the CPC

The CARN Database

The CARN database is now fully operational with 149 respondants to the questionnaire worldwide who have an interest in Canadian Antarctic activities. Fifty eight percent of these people are Canadians, forty seven of whom have made at least one visit to Antarctica in the pasto The data­base includes information on date and location of Antarctic visits, topics of specifie interest and related polar publica­tions. The database, which has been produced through sup­port from CPC to CARP", is being updated regularly.

International Exchanges

CANADA - ARGENTINA Dr. Gustavo Ferreyra of the Instituto Antarctico Argentino (lAA) has recently been awarded his doctorate in biological oceanography for studies at the University of Québec at Rimouski. His thesis is entitled "Effets du rayonnement UV sur le plancton des régions subarctique et Antarctique". The research was on the ecological effects of rising UV-B radiation associated with ozone depletion. His research di­rector was Prof. Serge Demers with co-direction from Dr. Suzanne Roy, both ofINRS-Oceanologie. Dr. Ferreyra re­turned to Argentina at the end of 1995 to continue his work for IAA in Antarctica.

CANADA-GERMANY Following a visit by Prof. Max Tilzer, director of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWl) at Bremerhaven, to Canada in October 1994, an agreement has been signed between Université Laval, Québec and AWT for ongoing exchange of scientists for bipolar research.

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Marine Expeditions Inc. Marine Expeditions operates a fleet of six small iee-rated

expedition vessels in the Peninsula region and the South SI~etland Islands. The cruises are ail edueationally foeused, Wlth expert naturalists and historians accompanying each voyage. As a supporting member ofIAATO, Marine Expe­ditions prides itself on its environmental record, and teaches and promotes environmentally responsible travel in Antarc­tica. [n 1994 Marine Expeditions eompleted an Initial En­vironmental Evaluation of its Southern Ocean operations, the fust of its kind by a tour operator.

Over the past three years, Marine Expeditions has sup­ported and promoted a number of environmental and scien­tifie initiatives, including support of Project Antarctica of Cambridge University, The Oceanitis Site Inventory and the VIEW Foundation's c1ean-up projects at Aretowski and Bellingshausen Stations.

Scientists interested in logistie support from Marine Ex­peditions' vessels should apply in writing to Patrick Shaw, Vice President Operations, 13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ont., M5R 2EI.

Trent Polar Paper The Trent Polar Paper (TPP) was fust published in April 1987. Since then, it has resurrected itself (in 1991), and reloeated its' office to: the Dep1. of Geography, Trent Uni­versity, Peterborough, Ont., K9J 7B8. It is published bi­monthly through the academic year (4 issues). The TPP tries to infonn the Trent University community and its ex­temal readership (present world-wide mailing Iist of50 peo­ple) on what is happening in thehigher latitudes ofthe world. They welcome contributions from their readership on most anything pertaining to the polar regions of the world. Any­one wishing to receive the TPP can do so by eontacting Miles Ecclestone at the above address, by faxing at 705-748-1205 or bye-mail at(mecclestone@trentu.ca).

Société Antarctique de Montréal Montreal Antarctic Society

The Montreal Antarctic Society is a Québec registered as­sociation whose object is the study of Antarctica. This in­terest arises mainly as a result of travel by its members to the Antaretic regions. They maintain a library, keep sub­scriptions to various publications and research articles in the news and through contacts with other associations. Travel experience ofmembers includes visits to the Antarc­tic peninsula and South Georgia. Ifyou would like to con­tact the Montreal Antarctic Society for further infonnation, please write to: Valmar Kurol cio 4633 Harvard Ave.,

Montreal, Quebec, H4A 2X3.

CANADIAN ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM EXECUTIVE COMMlTTEE:

For further information or suggestions regarding the activities of CARPIPRAC please contact any of the following committee members:

Hugh French, Office of the Dean, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, KI 6N5.

Peter Hochachka, Dep1. Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T IZI.

David Lean, National Institute of Water Researcb, Envi­rournent Canada. Burlington ON, L7R 4A6.

Olav Loken, 1170 Bonnie Cres., Ottawa, ON, K2C lZ5.

Dennis Stossel, Polar Affairs, 8 Nuffield Place, Winnipeg, MB,R3T4A5.

Peter Suedfeld (Chairman), Dept Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T IY7. Tel. (604) 822-5713. Fax. (604) 822-6923. Email: psuedfeld@cortex.psych.ube.ea

Warwick Vincent (Co-cbainnan, editor), Dépt Biologie & Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval Sainte- Foy, QC, GIK 7P4.

Please send editorjal correspondence to:

W.F. Vincent,

Dépt. de biologie, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, QC GIK 7P4 tel 418-656-5644 fax 418-656-2043

Email: warwick. vinccnl@bio . ulaval. ca

Editorial Assistant: Rowena Rae

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The CARP/PRAC header on page 1 was produeed by Jacques Giguère in the Graphies Dept. at Université Laval, and was based on an orjoinal'=' design by Dennis Stossel.

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Ifyou have not previously done so, please Si ce n'est déjà fait, veuillez s'il vous plaît, remplir fiU out and return this questionnaire. et retourner ce questionnaire.

Name:

Address: ---------'-----------'--:------------:-------­

Telephone: _ Fax:

Email:�

Have you ever worked in Antarctica? __ First year that you were in Antarctica:_---'-__�

Which part ofAntarctica: -----0------ In which national program: ----' _�

Please circle the topics which most closely match your Antarctic interests:�

Atrnospheric Sciences, Botany, Ecology, Environmental impacts, Geography Geochemistry,� Geology, Glaciology, History, Legal issues, Limnology, Microbial ecology, Oceanography, Organisation & management, Physics, Policy, Psycbology, Technology, Tourism, Zoology.

List up to three ofyour polar publications (Antarctic ifpossible):

PLEASEMAIL TO:Dr.AlbertHa1Jer.CanadianPolarCommission.Suite 170 - Constitution Square, 360 Albert St., Ottawa, Ontario, KIR 7X7, CANADA.

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